Pangilinan-led PXP Energy Corporation is still focused on intensifying its plea to the government for the targeted lifting of the ‘force majeure’ roadblock that had been enforced on its planned exploration and drilling activities at its petroleum blocks along Palawan basin.

The company has been referring to its Service Contract (SC) 72 or the Recto Bank; as well as its proximate Service Contract 75 that had been temporarily halted on their targeted extended seismic activities, supposedly to determine the extent of reserves that could be potentially extracted from these prospects.

Once that niggling moratorium is lifted, the company indicated that, along with its joint venture partners, they would be allowed to “conduct further studies and establish the appropriate technology required to increase production rates and recoverable reserves,” primarily at the Linapacan B prospect.

Ultimately, the goal of the fresh round of seismic surveys would be to determine the viability of the blocks if they would eventually yield commercial-scale prospects, especially for SC 75 which has been widely touted as a prospect that could replace the gas output of the Malampaya field.

Around April last year, the vessel contracted and deployed by PXP Energy and its foreign-incorporated affiliate firm Forum Energy to resume new round of seismic surveys at the specified service contracts along offshore Palawan had been ordered to cease on their targeted exploration works, mainly due to the diplomatic strife that the country had with China when it comes to territorial claims at the West Philippine Sea.

Despite snags, PXP Energy is eternally hopeful that the impediment will soon clear up, and that will correspondingly allow it to advance on its planned exploration activities.

PXP Energy and Forum jointly asserted that they “will continue to coordinate with the government on the resumption of activities in both SC 72 and SC 75. “

When that obstacle is finally resolved, the company emphasized that “both SCs will retain the equivalent remaining terms of the respective subphases prior to October 14, 2020,” in reference to the work programs for the blocks that had been submitted to the Department of Energy.

While sorting out such predicament, PXP Energy reported that its bottom line was still at its depressed state, with its core net loss increasing to P23.9 million in the first three quarters this year versus P14.7 million a year ago.

The company explained that the dismal financial outcome it logged had been mainly traced to “lower margins from Galoc operations, increase in overhead and higher interest expense.”

On the sphere of revenues, that moderately climbed to P63 million from the year-ago level of P49.3 million; and that was spurred by at least three (3) off-takes from Galoc field production which topped 475,183 barrels.

The average selling price fetched by PXP Energy on its crude sales had been at $80.5 per barrel for 291,216 barrels; while two other offtakes cornered heftier price of $97.1 per barrel.

In terms of costs and expenses, this also went up to P82.1 million from last year’s P65.6 million due to higher costs it incurred through the process of its petroleum production.